It's smaller on the outside - The mechanical furniture of the RoentgensFebruary 24, 2014 7:54 AMSubscribe

The Roentgens are perhaps best known for shape-shifting roll-top desks and secretary cabinets, which could cost almost as much as small estates. These are resplendent with intricate marquetry, gilded mounts and precious inlay in mother-of-pearl, tortoise shell, bronze and ivory.

But many of them are also ingeniously mechanized with weights and springs, so that the press of a button or turn of a key can activate veritable choreographies of opening doors and pop-out drawers, hidden niches and secret mirrors, candlestick mounts, easels and bookstands. These objects seem almost to turn themselves inside out, and their expanding, cascading, always symmetrical forms can exert a nearly libidinous, definitely magical thrall.

So, in Russian, the word for X-Ray (as in the procedure or the machine) is "roentgen," after Wilhelm Roentgen, who discovered the x-ray. I was looking at these photos for a while trying to figure out how exactly they turn into an x-ray machine and why until I realized this is by a completely different Roentgen.

Also I am picturing some eccentric German noble's wife standing in the midst of ten thousand cabinets and drawers and surfaces pulled out of a bureau that is also plinking out Bach from a hidden music box and she is yelling I JUST NEED A GODDAMN PAIR OF SCISSORS, ALBRECHT. MAYBE WE CAN GET A NORMAL DESK NEXT TIME, JA?posted by griphus at 8:16 AM on February 24, 2014 [14 favorites]

If you liked these, then you'll probably love the documentary "Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams" presented by the wonderful Simon Schaeffer who lectured a sizeable chunk of the History & Philosophy of Science course at Cambridge when I had the great pleasure of taking it twenty years ago.

I wonder how much actual writing/card playing happened on these desks and tables, and how much time the owners spent demonstrating them to boggle-eyed guests. That Berlin Secretary especially is just crazy.

I sort of wonder how much they would have cost when new, too. If the answer is "more than the average house" (and I'm sure it is) that can really knock the shine off for me. Of course you can make something amazing if you just build it out of money.posted by Western Infidels at 9:06 AM on February 24, 2014

I sort of wonder how much they would have cost when new, too. If the answer is "more than the average house" (and I'm sure it is) that can really knock the shine off for me. Of course you can make something amazing if you just build it out of money.

I don’t really understand that, they would be more impressive works if he had sold them for less? The extremely rich people who bought them should have been able to keep more of their money and he should have got less in order to make them better works of art?posted by bongo_x at 9:17 AM on February 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

I imagine if anyone actually tried to use these for hiding important papers and whatnot that a familiar scene must have been Papa desperately fiddling around turning the keys twice clockwise--booinnggggg, up springs the wrong fucking secret strongbox--no, wait, it's three and a half times anti-clockwise--deedle doodle deedle doodle, down drops the cover over, yet again, the wrong set of secret drawers--"Oh, to hell with it, could someone get little Johann from the nursery and ask him to tell me how to find those damned secret plans for our attack on France again?"posted by yoink at 9:26 AM on February 24, 2014 [2 favorites]

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